With Ally's confirmation that everything is alright Doyle gets down to spreading the dirt around. Almost every room gets a good hand length of soil along the bottom along with any nooks and crannies being filled in. The only exception being his core room and the medium size room right above it which he leaves dirt free and the long room. That hallway gets jam packed with the stuff. Even beyond that he shifts the stone around to make some places on the ceiling to put dirt in for when he places the vines. He piles the dirt up along the walls in some places so high as to block vision from one end of the room to the other.
That done Doyle turns back to Ally. 'I placed all the dirt and it only took me half a day. Crazy long when compared to the fact that all the stone for the rooms took a few hours but I guess that's my life now.' Ally claps her hands, 'wonderful! Time for planting and sowing. You have only a few choices for flora but what you do have is a nice selection. If I remember correctly, the three normal plants you have are shrubs, vines, and clover. Now you don't need my advice for this but shrubs are good for breaking up your large rooms. Vines can block sight and mess with ranged attacks. Finally clover just goes everywhere on the floor that you have dirt but no other plant. Your walls look nice enough but mud floors isn't attractive to adventurers.'
'Before you go off to do it know that when creating your plants you have some control. In your patterns it just lists the plant or animal. Don't assume this means you just throw energy at the creation skill and boom, you have a shrub. There is a large amount of control on how old what you create is, the coloring, and with more levels in the pattern the species.'
'For instance, you have shrubbery at level two. With that you just have one species available and the ability to make it a brighter or darker shade of green than natural. As people track in miscellaneous seeds and bits of greenery, you will collect more shrub species and level the pattern up allowing for a more diverse dungeon biome.'
'Anyway, got a bit sidetracked there. Creation of life is a bit harder than rock or air. With the system though you have a shortcut. Use the database skill and select the pattern you want to create. Oh and that was a request for you to do that. Easier to explain with a visual.'
Doyle bobbles, 'okay let's start with the clover as I have to place that everywhere. [Dungeon Pattern Database]' This does nothing though. He tries it again only to notice something important. It was already active. His status screen and the list of patterns are still on display off to the side as he had never closed them. 'Okay, just ignore that. [Select clover].'
Front and center a new window pops up for him and Ally to look at. On it are a couple of images and a barebones stat panel. They ignore the images for the moment and focus on the stats.
{Species: Clover
S[3] A[20] C[10]}
Despite only having three stats it has amazing values in two of them. Doyle quirks his core to the side, 'what's up with the crazy agility? None of my monsters have a value greater than ten.' Ally shrugs, 'It is just the difference between what is being represented. If you check the images above while there is a picture of a single clover the main image is of a field of the stuff. The image of a singular clover is for messing around with the looks of it.'
'What the stats are for is the field though. Agility is so high because it is a plant and not something like a large tree. Think about it, when you step on grass does it not just spring back up afterwards? And the constitution comes from how hard it is to kill a whole field of clovers. The only stat that has anything to do with one piece of clover is the Strength. In fact, the only reason it is so high is because of the roots.'
'The stats don't actually matter much and can be ignored until the system decides whatever your dealing with is a monster or sentient. For now, play around with the design of your clover. This specific species should be the one native to wherever you came from. A good starting point but maybe add a splash of color or something?'
Doyle focuses on the image of a single clover. A little misleading as it includes not just a leaf but one flower as well. His focus is enough to bring up a display reminiscent of some 3d modeling program. Not as powerful though as he gets the feel that he is quite limited in what he can do. What he can do is shift the color a little. There is a little mark on the leaf which is a bit lighter. Doyle expands the area it covers and lightens the center even more. Now each leaf will look like they have a small dot. Besides that Doyle notices the flowers have a chance to turn a bit pink. Instead of making it a chance he just cranks it up so about one in five flowers are a bright pink.
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Ally nods at his changes, 'good now don't even think of touching the other plants. You can go back and change them later but if you make your dungeon look like some alien landscape, it might hurt you. For the moment the clover will add a mystique to the dungeon and it is well within the realm of possibility. Oh, and your assassin vines are matched to the current vines you have. While changes to foliage and critters costs nothing, messing with monsters does.'
'Anyway, now that you have the clover figured out just confirm this variant is your default clover type.' Doyle complies, '[Make this the default clover]'. With that the image of a field of clover shifts to be populated with the new type. The lighter dots on the leaves creates an interesting look to the field. However the weird part is that the pink flowers are not evenly spread. Instead, they are clumped up in groups of ten to over a hundred blooms. The effect looks quite striking to Doyle though he has to wonder about the behavior.
Ally glances at the field, 'very nice. Humans will love it. Now for the easy part. Since clover is a normal type of plant, you will not be placing each leaf yourself. You can of course but that would be stupid. Instead, just imagine where you want it in a room and clover will fill the space. In fact, once you have it placed I advise you to put down a rule to keep the place filled. Otherwise after a few fights your rooms will end up like mud pits and that doesn't even come close to what happens when a fire mage comes through.'
'Oh, and that rule is only temporary. Once enough energy has been absorbed by the clover to make it real, the stuff will grow back just fine on its own. When a floor is clear of adventurers, the plants will grow back at a faster speed. You still need to worry about animals but I have advice for that as well. Now spread the clover and I guess the rest of the plants as well. You will feel a change once you place it. That is natural and we can talk about after you finish.'
Doyle quirks his core to the side, 'it's the change of my quintessence to world energy isn't it?' Ally holds both hands up, 'well yes, but once again we can talk after you're done. Not much we can do until it finishes and that should be around when you're done with the plants.'
Instructions over Doyle refocuses on his dungeon as a whole. Clover is easy enough. Mass select all the dirt areas and point his creation skill at it. Starting with the center large room plants spring up through the soil and grow to maturity. In a wave the clover spreads outward until it covers every nook and cranny of the floor. Next up is the bushes. The medium-sized rooms don't need it and he has other plans for the long room but the rest get at least one planted to break up the terrain. Especially the two by three room next to his core. He has plans for that one and plants a couple rows of bushes which are all trimmed up.
Last thing for him to place are the vines. Mostly he keeps them out of the rooms, instead planting them in hallways. Doyle actually ends up adding some more dirt in them so he can give the walls a bit more cover. However the main center for his vines is the long room. With plans of this being the place he keeps a couple assassin vines there needs to be a massive amount to provide cover. Vines on the walls, vines creeping across the ground, vines hanging from the ceiling. He just coats the place with them.
And all the while this is happening he can feel a foundational shift in his dungeon. With the clover placed Doyle felt his quintessence drop as another energy takes it place. In fact, for each drop of quintessence a flood of world energy inaduates him. This feeling of change lasts even beyond placing his last vine so he waits another moment for it to finish. Ally however notices when it is done first and attracts his attention to his status.
{Name: Doyle Huxley
Race: Dungeon Core (Strange Caverns)
Soulbond: Ally Huxley
Paths: [21] Dungeon Core 1/1
Level: 0
[2] S[8] A[7] C[10] I[12] W[9] P[5] D[14] K[20] L[16]
World Energy(/R per hour): 31,200/1000(250)
Skills: Territory Control lv4, Dungeon Rules lv2, Universal Deconstruction lv2, Dungeon Pattern Database lv9, Creation(Energy Powered, Pattern Based) lv4}
In place of quintessence he now has world energy and its regeneration rate is much greater. What hasn't changed though is the overflow. The amount of stored up energy is still much greater than the pool should be able to hold. Doyle doesn't even have to ask about it though as Ally explains.
'Normally when you overfill an energy pool something happens. On the low end of the scale the excess just dissipates. Too much though and you're liable to burn yourself or have some other nasty side effects happen. However as a dungeon who isn't open to the outside, yet this is delayed. Once you do open up the energy will burst outward alerting those in the know to your presence. There is no stopping this. Until you do open up, there is a limit to how much territory you can control and none of your monsters are expensive enough to use it all either.'
'Using too much would be a bad thing on more developed worlds anyway. There are tools to detect a new dungeon and the less energy one puts off the tougher, stranger, or annoying it will be so they send out the A team right away. On the other hand when a dungeon bursts out so much that even the nearby farmers notice it, likely only those farmers will care. You don't have to worry about this too much but you never know what someone might learn in a tutorial. Anyway, now that you have plants down we are onto critters.'
Ally conjures up an illusionary horned rabbit, 'Critters are any lifeform which isn't a monster or sentient in your dungeon. Not harmless. Regular bees, for instance, are a nice inclusion with all this clover and they count as a critter. Still, they are not a threat to anyone with some combat experience.'
'You don't even technically need them, just like you don't need the plants. However anything you can do to remove your monsters reliance on your energy the better. A horned rabbit will eat the clover and the kobolds and assassin vines will prey on them. You don't have to worry too much about keeping their numbers up because as I mentioned I have a trick for you.'
'In a number of places hollow out small warrens for your rabbits. Not in the dirt like a normal rabbits home. Any that survive long enough will do that. No, into the very rock of the walls create their homes and put in place rules that keep out other animals and monsters. Now you have a safe place for them to breed. You do have to wait till they you get a pair that are real enough to do so but like rats it is easy for them. Once there is a breeding pair in a warren slap on a rule that prevents rabbits from leaving if there isn't enough to keep going.'
'Now that will get you a normal amount of rabbits. Still a lot, but not enough to deal with the predation of monsters and adventurers. This is partly fixed as critters grow at a sped up pace when there are no invaders, just like plants. However if you're popular enough, they might not have a chance to do so. To fix it, you have to use one more rule. Set each warren to be a safe room. Not the room you attach them to but rather just each warren separately.'
'There is a lot to go over with safe rooms but what you need to know for now is they section off whatever area you set them in and your creatures can't attack anything when in one. What is important for your rabbit warrens is that first thing. A safe room will allow plants and critters in them to grow at a sped up pace as long as there are no invaders in any room connected to it. This means any warrens in your long room will produce copious amounts of horned rabbits when the long room itself is clear of adventurers. Now place some rabbits. This will take a while to do as you have to wait for the warrens to be ready but it will be worth it.'
And she wasn't lying when she said it would take a while. Five days later Doyle finishes with all the rabbits. It would have taken longer but he decided he did not need them in any of the medium-sized rooms or the first two large rooms. Goats don't need rabbits after all. A few wandered into those sections but never more than a couple at a time.
He turns back to Ally only to find her sprawled out on top of his core with another book. This one more familiar to him as it is one of the dungeon core novels he had read in the past. 'Hey Ally, I'm done with the rabbits.' She loses grip on the book and it falls to the ground below him. She snorts, 'a little warning before you sneak up one would be nice. Anyway, after perusing what your world's fiction has been up to they are still missing some critical parts of how a dungeon works.'
'Mainly the difference comes from monster placement. In other universes dungeons can place them willy-nilly but with the system ours is under that isn't true. Some stories do have it right and if you know anything about wargaming, you should be good. Monsters are point buy on a floor by floor total. This isn't for balance mind you though it does generally end up causing it.'
'Rather while flora and fauna can survive on the energy that naturally escapes, your monsters cannot. They have to be hooked into the floors energy circulation to live. Sure if you could setup a complete ecology it would allow you to breed more monsters but at least for the first few floors that isn't possible. Part of the reason is because this is all you have to work with. Look at the edge of your territory.'
Doyle does so and right away is shocked. Before his sphere of influence had been steadily expanding. Now however it had almost stopped in its tracks. Sure he could tell there was still some growth going on but it would take years to add enough space for another small room.
'From your silence I take it you noticed. A dungeons floor count is more than just how many stairs an adventurer has to go down. Sure after enough time your first floor will have expanded. Flisle in specific now has a first floor bigger than most young dungeon's one hundredth floor. All it means for you though is that we need to open up so you can advance.'
'As for how many points you have to spend on the floor? Later on it will be under a floors specific page. Until you get another floor or level though it is easy enough. 1000, your current world energy max amount. What this means for you is if a party full clears the first floor it would take four hours to regain all the energy used in spawning new monsters. With the right paths your levels will increase both the max and the regen rate however to start new floors will be the biggest boost.'
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'Now we still have the pattern database open. I guess we didn't have a reason to close it yet, huh? Anyway, with that open, select one of your monsters. I advise not the goat as they aren't a good reference point for you.' With goats out of the way Doyle settles on the kobolds and pulls up their screen.
{Kobold
S[4] A[7] C[4] I[6] W[6] P[6]
Skills: Heavy Bash lv3, Improvise Trap lv3
Cost: World Energy[50]}
Ally gestures towards the bottom of the status sheet. 'There we go, a kobold costs you 50 world energy to create so you could technically fill your dungeon with 20 of them. Obviously this isn't what we will do but make more than just a couple. They are social creatures after all. Anyway, this is about what I expected them to cost. They aren't a mammal so you aren't fully attuned with them. However they are a social omnivore with the potential for a society so ticks in your favor. Also, for some reason you're attuned to them especially well in a way I can't pinpoint. The average for a secondary monster under this system is around 60 to start. Now pull up the other two.'
{Assassin Vine
S[10] A[2] C[8]
Skills: Grapple lv5
Cost: World Energy[300]}
{Goat
S[6] A[4] C[12] I[2] W[2] P[5]
Skills: Charge lv3
Cost: World Energy[5]}
'Okay, the goats cost is half of what it should be but not a bad thing. Besides that though everything is in line with a new dungeon. Cheap primary monster and two more costly secondary ones. Especially that assassin vine. Being a plant did it no favors in its compatibility with you. Now you might ask yourself, what about the levels the patterns have?'
'Those will influence the cost, eventually. The level however can't more than halve the cost and that is when it gets in the hundreds of levels or even thousands. Levels in a pattern will instead provide options and quality at no extra cost. It is like the blacksmith example. A thousand levels in the nail pattern won't let them pull iron out of thin air. Instead, they will be able to make those nails faster and with a higher quality. The angle on the point will be perfect for whatever they intend it to be used for and it will stay straight when being hammered in. Now how do you plan to fill out your thousand points?'
Doyle takes a moment to look over his map and the costs again. He already knew he wanted two assassin vines in the long room. The remaining 400 points were more up in the air though. After going over everything one final time Doyle went with six kobolds and a whopping 20 goats. He turns to Ally and explains the layout.
'Of course the two vine assassins go in the vine room. No question about that though I will allow one of them to wander a little. Though only into that early winding hallway and that small lonely room connected directly to the vine room. Kobolds are also easy. I want them defending my core so five of them go in the last large room and they can wander into the two by three room as well.'
'As for the goat placement? That took a little math to work out but I think I got it. The first large room will stay empty. Not a safe room but more of a gathering room with horned rabbits. The next large room will have four goats and the medium room right after that a single one. No goats in the vine room or the small room attached to it. Then on that strip of medium rooms they contain two goats, one goat, two more goats, and the final room has three goats. Next is another large room and I will put five goats in it.'
'Now all that is left is two more goats and a single kobold, no I didn't forget it. The three of them go in the final medium sized room before my core. You haven't told me anything about how bosses work but I figure a kobold with a couple pet goats wouldn't go wrong as core defenders. I will allow them to wander into the main kobold camp but once the fighting starts they have to retreat.'
Ally looks over his plan and gives a thumbs up to it. 'This is decent enough and I like what you did with the last room. You don't get a boss till floor five but you might be able to swing a name for the kobold. The only thing missing is traps and you weren't getting them yet anyway. Traps are the one thing the system gimps us on. We just cannot place any trap like structures until after the first boss.'
'Oh, but don't think because this is a good setup it will work. You're missing a couple of things with it that are quite important. Going to be upfront with you on it but I won't tell you what these problems are. Not can't, won't. Study after study has shown that these are basic mistakes that dungeons will always make within the first few floors. Furthermore, it is one of those lessons you need to learn the hard way so you don't forget it in the future. I can tell you one thing that needs fixed right away though.'
'Put in some lights. As a dungeon you can see everything just fine but everyone else is a little in the dark. I would have mentioned it sooner but your core has a glow to it so I could see just fine. To make lights you have a couple of options. Diffuse light that just covers the room. A single source or the realistic option with a few torches. They don't have to be torches, just some light source you would expect but that is the classic option. This isn't a permanent choice but whichever you use first is what the system info dumps you on. The others you will have to learn on your own.'
Doyle rolls his core. 'As if I have a choice. The diffuse one is just silly and my vine room would be in darkness with a single source. Realistic it is, though a torch isn't really my speed. Let me try something.'
Doyle settles down and imagines an LED light strip. When he tries to place this in the entry room nothing happens. Not that he expected it to work but it should be possible. In fact LEDs are incredibly simple in concept. Just power passing between two bits of metal through a semiconductor. He had wanted a light strip because those always looked neat but a single LED isn't bad. Of course a single LED doesn't work either.
At this point though he knows what to do. There is no reason a torch would work and an LED wouldn't. He just isn't thinking of it right. A torch likely works because it is so obvious. Fire on the end produces light. With that in mind he just has to imagine the inner workings of an LED more.
That does it. Doyle is now the proud owner of a single LED light. Then of course the system sledge hammers another data dump into his brain. He had expected this, Ally had told him it was coming after all. Though now that he has it figured out it seems obvious. That and the fact that the system had to have electric lights or similar as there was the abandoned space station style. He just has to cover his dungeon in lights now.
Or that is what he thinks when Ally interrupts him, 'oh yeah, don't forget to spawn your monsters. I might have sidetracked you with the lights.' He wasn't going to tell her he had been sidetracked. Two assassin vines, six kobolds, 20 goats, and an absurd number of LED lights later and the floor is mostly finished. For the lights he actually got a bit clever with it. Most rooms would work better with a single light source so he just made a big pile of LEDs on the ceiling. He only made three exceptions for the moment.
The vine room was all shadowy because he hid the LEDs in alcoves and behind plants. For the two by three room with the orderly bushes he had a small group of the lights over each bush. The last exception was the pseudo boss room. He raised a stone throne for the kobold to sit on and has the lights all behind it. He still has one last monster based thing to figure out now with the lighting done. Which kobold to have in the boss room. He remembered that the males were more likely to develop mana and the females qi. 'Hey Ally, should I stick a girl or a guy in the last room? Do you think qi or mana would work out better?'
Ally cups her chin, "hmm", 'that is a good question. If you just had a single goat with them, I would say go with mana. Mana users tend to develop familiars and a goat might work. With two of them though I would advise a girl. That way she makes the best use of both goats you provide her with. Plus magic based mobs aren't the best for important monsters this early. A well-placed firebolt can turn the tide but you really want a monster with more sustain. Qi users are less bursty in general.'
Doyle tilts his core, 'good enough a reason for me. One of the girls gets to sit on the throne. Though I guess I should have thought of this before. I currently have an even split but it sounds like I might want to replace a male kobold with a female one. As it is the kobolds home room has more potential mages than martial artists.'
'Just replace one', Ally shrugs, 'later on once you get named monsters it will matter but right now everything is a clean slate. Since you aren't open to the outside at the moment just like your world energy pool isn't emptying, you won't lose any energy when you deconstruct stuff. More so than even other dungeons you're a bit of a closed loop. Sure energy is coming in but that's it.' A brief pause for Doyle to switch his kobolds around and Ally continues the tutorial.
'Now that you have everything ready we can finally get around to busting open your core room. The first step to that though is designating your dungeon's entrance. If you just tried to open up your core, it would place an entrance without your input and that could be terrible. No one wants adventurers to spawn in their core room even for a minute. As a dungeon in the void it is easy enough for you to reposition the entrance but more dimension bound ones are not so lucky.'
Doyle rolls, 'as if I have much of a choice anymore. I had already decided when I placed one room farthest from my core. Maybe if I had enough room for multiple branches, there might be somewhere else to put it hell, I was already calling that room the entryway. [Set dungeon entrance there in the center of the left wall of the last large room].' With that command a circle of crystals burst out of the room's wall. At the center a black dot forms and expands to fill the crystal structure. As if a never ending hole the blackness of the portal seems to eat everything that touches it, even the light. Only the fact that the crystals themselves glow keeps that side of the room lit. This darkness isn't a lack of light but rather an object of its own.
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{Time Until Core Breach: 1.00.00
0.59.59
0.59.47}
Doyle has other things to worry about though as a timer popped up with the completion of the entrance. Ally glances at it and sighs, 'don't worry about the wording. All it means is that unless you open up your core room within the hour, the system will do so for you. More because to not do so would cause a much more catastrophic breach. Since your dungeon is ready, though just create some door between the core and your last room. Try to hide it a little so people can't just sneak past your monsters but it has to open enough to allow people through. Something about how dungeons are formed requires it. Oh, and once you do create the doorway, you will be open to people. Specifically, because of the nonsense with Flisle there will be people from your planets tutorial tromping through.'
'I looked at the conditions and don't expect to finish by having a single person try to brave your dungeon only to fall and break their neck. The group you defeat has to be a party of at least six people and of them three have to be defeated by your monsters. Also, don't worry about them messing with your core. The system will put up another portal in the doorway which will take the winners back to their tutorial instance.' Finished Ally sits back down on the core and takes out yet another book. To himself Doyle wonders if the reason she only brought a single pinch of dirt was because all the rest of her storage was filled with books. That wasn't important though, so he refocuses on his core room.
'Where to put the door? Well, okay that is a stupid question. I place it on the wall next to the boss room. The real question is what kind of door. It has to open but I really would prefer if a single person could not do so. Unless of course they had enough stats under the belt but not much I can do about that. For now, I think just making the door require three normal people to open it should be enough. Someone should be able to double their strength easily enough during the early game as humans aren't exactly the best weightlifters.'
'In fact, anyone who specializes in brute force might easily have a raw power well above that. However once again, if they can reach my core room with strength alone not much I can do. Instead, I have to hope that stealthy types will focus agility early on so even if they do make it to the door unnoticed they can't open it. With that in mind a big rolling stone block might be my best bet early on.'
'Not much room so I will have to have it roll to cover the entrance to the boss room. I am okay with that but how to get it to roll back? Right, of course. Just [set boss room to be smooth again]. That leaves a ledge and if I [adjust the rock here] to make the slope steeper. Almost done now [smooth the ramp] and [put in some guides] so they can't just knock the rock over and finished. [Create the rock door] and [remove a circular plug of stone] from my core room opens my dungeon for business. Now how much time did that take?' He looks over at the timer which is now just blinking on the same number.'
{0.21.33}
Once he has read it, the window closes itself and a new one opens up.
{Searching for Challengers}
Ally looks up at the window and nods, 'ah the joys of being in a tutorial. The system brings challengers right to you and then gives you a break after they leave. Once we are hooked up to your world, there will just be an open door for people, animals, and monsters to wander through. Not so bad for you as dungeon cores don't need to sleep but until we are safer, I will be a nervous wreck. Now for the fun part though, the waiting!'
And waiting there was. After the first hour Doyle was worried about it and asked Ally but she can only shrug. 'At this point as far as the tutorial is concerned we are second-class citizens. Not only does there need to be someone ready to do their dungeon run. They also have to choose the option to try our dungeon instead of just the one they had been training in. With how big earth was you won't need to worry about no one choosing us but it could take a while. Proper tutorial guides will try to get their trainee to soft cap five skills and train with their group for at least a week. Even with the learning boost in the tutorial this can take a while.'
'Of course the bad tutorial guides will just try to shove people through as quickly as possible. We have probably missed that deluge of newbs though and I half bet the system wouldn't count it anyway. Just wait a few days and if by then we still have gotten no one I have some options.'
The first group showed up just shy of three days. Though calling it a group would be a bit of a misnomer. Yes, under the system it counted as a team but a single sneaky boy does not a party make. Doyle informs Ally right away about this event and she quickly demands he brings up a view. He rolls completely to the side tipping her off and asks, 'What are you talking about? This is the first I have heard of being able to share a view.'
Ally flies back up to his core, 'oh right. We didn't really need it so it just slipped my mind. The system provides a nice feature to help dungeon companions. Just focus on one wall intending to show me something that is happening in the dungeon and you will act like a magical projector.'
Doyle does so just in time for them to watch the adventurer step right back through the portal. Ally nods, 'yeah he was probably a scout for his party. Give it an hour and he will be back with his party. This first trip was just to test the water. He left right away so a healer could check him for any disease, parasite, or poison that might have been around. Though the fact that we didn't greet him with a lava pool makes it likely his party will be the first to face us unless some other group sneaks in.'
An hour later a group of six people wait before a portal. Antonio stands at the front of his party and fidgets his heavy leather armor. "Come on, I have the skill for it. Why doesn't this gear fit better?" Off to the side leaned up against a wall Jeremy smirks, "Because you have the skill for heavy armor which means metal and sh" *bonk*
From the side a girl in white robes with a metal heart protector smacks him on the head with a shillelagh. "Just cause mother isn't here doesn't mean I will let you get away with cursing." Jeremy rubs his head, "Come on Jess. No harm no foul." By her glare though he can tell that even after the end of the world he will have to watch his mouth. With a shrug he continues, "As I was saying your skill is for metal armor like plate, not some trumped up leather. What you have is at best medium armor."
Antonio sighs and turns to the team's leader. Kyle is over by the parties mage, Fern, trying to hit on her. Antonio rolls his eyes, "Yo Kyle, time to go. With what the guide said and Jeremy saw we should be in for an easy clear against a baby dungeon. Now that Jeremy's retry timer has expired we should get a move on."
Kyle coughs, "Right, onward to victory! By the way where is Cas?" Antonio rolls his eyes and Kyle spins around. Behind him is a lanky girl in light leather armor, a bow on her back, and with a great big grin. "Why behind you baby brother! What better place to watch a train wreck?"
Fern shifts her blue robes a bit, "Well you could have stopped the wreck in the first place. Now we need to get a move on. The other groups might be behind us but will catch up soon. Plus, I don't think the guide can actually stop people from trying a dungeon run before they get all their skills to level ten. That was more of a threat enforced thing."
Kyle perks up, "true. I don't know if there is a reward for being the first group in a tutorial instance to complete it but if there is I want it. Now me and Ant through the portal first, Jeremy and Jess second, and you enter last with Cas." Orders given he grabs Antonio and charges through the dungeon portal.
Cas just sighs as Jeremy and Jess saunter through. Fern giggles, "Don't worry about your brother. He's harmless though we should think of how to bring him down lightly." Cas shakes her head and grabs Fern up, "clueless is more like it if he can't put the clues together. We aren't exactly hiding it", and she kisses her. Once back on the ground Fern holds Beth's hand as they walk through the portal as well leaving an empty stone hallway.
On the other side the rest of the group have spread out to check the large room they find themselves in. clover covers the floor with a couple bushes in the left back corner. Off to the right is the only other way out, a rough tunnel carpeted with even more clover. Cas glances upward and notes that there seems to be a single light source. While there aren't any threats in this room that she can see she brings out her bow, ready for a fight.
Jeremy with daggers already drawn ducks into the tunnel to do a little exploring as the rest ready themselves. Jess sighs, "You know we should have already been armed and ready for a fight when we came through?" Antonio shrugs at her comment, "Why bother? Jeremy had already checked it out for us after all." She shakes her head, "But what if something had changed or there was a hidden monster? It is fine to make mistakes like this in the tutorial but once we are out this kind of carelessness could be our death."
Kyle speaks up at this point. "To be fair talking aloud is also somewhat of a no no. But yes, I agree with you. If we complete the dungeon there is only another day we get to stay in the tutorial so we should spend it questioning the guide. She seemed quite experienced in this sort of career."
Over at the tunnel Jeremy rolls his eyes as he steps back into the room, "Of course she does. Best I can tell she was some sort of bandit who preyed on new adventurers inside of a dungeon. You and everyone else got warned right when we arrived that this whole tutorial gig is like community service for them."
Antonio slaps his chest. A move that would be much more impressive with a metal plate instead of leather. "That's perfect then! She would know exactly what we have to be careful about. Just like companies would hire hackers to test their setups. Who better to learn what not to do in a dungeon from than someone that took advantage of people doing all the wrong things."
Fern steps forward and claps her hands, "Okay, enough of this jibber jabber. We are here to run the dungeon. Not debate the virtue of our guide. Jeremy what did you see through that tunnel?" Leaned up against the wall again Jeremy shrugs, "Just a handful of goats"
Fern glares at him, "A handful as in five? Or are they micro goats and you meant a literal handful of them? We live in a fantasy novel now so be specific." Jeremy throws his hands up, "Fine, there are four normal goats. In fact, my observation skill just labeled them goat. Nothing fancy and in fact once again, if what the guide told us is true we might not even have to fight them." Fern sighs and turns her glare on Kyle. He fidgets, "Okay party, time to move out!"
All six of them gathered together. Antonio in front with Jeremy, Fern and Jess in the middle, with Kyle and Cas taking up the rear. As they make their way through the twisting hallway Antonio swipes at the various vines, "good thing these are only along the walls. This would be frustrating if they blocked our way."
Then Jeremy holds up his hand and the party stops. With a couple gestures he communicates that the next room is just around the corner up ahead. Antonio centers his stance and advances forward. At the bend he sticks his sword out and waggles it, "not a bull fight then." Jeremy half smiles, "since when did a normal goat become a bull?" Antonio scoffs, "Since magic, genius."
Fern facepalms so hard, "We are literally just around the corner from potentially mortal danger. Can you save your quips for after the fight?" Antonio complains under his breath, "he started it" Kyle shakes his head, "well don't make me end it. Everyone around the bend we can't keep the goats waiting now can we?"
As a whole the group sweeps around the corner ready for battle. In the room which looks quite similar to the first they find exactly what Jeremy had said. Four goats, all of them munching on clover and currently gathered in along the left wall. This makes them a little closer to the group than either side is comfortable with so the goat meander their way towards the back of the room.
Jess scratches her head, "Well I guess that proves it then. We are in a baby dungeon who hasn't even figured out how to order its own mobs around." Antonio shrugs, "I'm not going to complain about not being hit." The rest of the group nods in agreement.
Kyle walks out into the center of the room and while the goats give him the stink eye still nothing happens. He shrugs, "just remember everyone. Predators will still attack us so this won't be too much of a cake walk unless goats is all there is. Anyway, from here I can see that the next room is just a smaller version of this one with a single goat. Beyond that I can see a lot of vines so you might just get your wish Ant."
Antonio grouses that he, "didn't want the vines in his face." Everyone else has a good laugh at this as they make their way through the two goat rooms and into the vine-covered room. Jeremy ducks down to try and see under the vines, "drat, the land isn't flat in here so watch your step. I can't make out more than a handful of paces."
Fern grins, "again with these handfuls? How would you even measure your sight range with a volume-based measurement?" Jeremy scrunches his eyes shut and rubs his temple, "You bloody well know what I mean by it. About five of something. It isn't an exact measurement because I haven't taken a f", Jess taps her shillelagh, "ine ruler to the ground."
Cas gives Jess's shoulder a squeeze, "That's a never ending vigil you've set for yourself. But yeah, Fern, give him a break. This is only the second time today but don't make us add up how many times you have ribbed him for it in the last week. I know it has been stressful for you but who hasn't been stressed?"
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Kyle nods, "Right, she is quite right. Now Antonio, let Jeremy lead till we are out of the vines. We will need his detection skill on full blast just in case there is some real threat here." Antonio gives a thumbs up and takes a step back with a smile.
Jeremy rolls his eyes then starts the group moving forward again. About seven paces into the room he stops everyone again. He points up towards the ceiling off to the left side but no one else can see anything. He shakes his head then grabs Antonio's and points his face right at the spot. It takes Antonio a moment but then his eyes go wide, "Wowee that is a giant vine monster."
Now that everyone else knows what to look for it takes only another moment for the group to all see the plant monster. Kyle with his chin in his hand ponders for a moment, "Well I don't think it can be that fast? Hey Jeremy, now that you've had your fun what does your observation skill say about it?"
Jeremy has the cockiest grin as he explains that, "it's an assassin vine. You're both right and wrong. The thing can't change locations fast but it is an ambush predator. If we had stumbled under it one of us would be off the ground before they knew it. Least that is what the description says. This is another threat we can just walk around. Still need to be on the lookout for others in this room. You can tell that the room was set up just for them."
With more caution than probably needed they pass the assassin vine single file, hugging the opposite wall. Past that monster the group continues on through the vines. Farther in and Jeremy once again stops the group, "that must have been the halfway point back there cause I see the exit. Bad news is I also see another assassin vine and this one is chilling right over the doorway to the next room. I don't think we can avoid this fight."
Cas shrugs, "I bet this wouldn't count for our dungeon run if we didn't have to fight. Plus the guide said to expect three different monsters, so this is only the second type. You never know what could be around the next corner. Anyway, let me take a few shots at it. I have this fancy new bow yet there has been nothing to use it on till now."
Kyle repositions to the front with Antonio while Jeremey gets behind them. The other three line up behind them with Cas in the center. Everyone in position Cas puts an arrow on the bowstring and draws back. With careful aim she lines up a shot on the center of mass. A twang and an arrow sprouts from the assassin vine.
All the motionless vines that cover the doorway lift up and flail about. Antonio lifts his shield up and steps forward into range of the vines. They strike his shield one after another creating a horrendous noise but his strength is enough to stand his ground. Kyle comes up on his side and swings his morning star down on a cluster of vines near pulping them.
The shock from this attack freezes the assassin vine for a moment. Just long enough for Fern to get off a sharp blast of wind targeted at the stilled vines. Three of them fall away from the main body and land on the floor. They thrash around but are clearly no longer a threat.
Antonio braces his legs and then thrusts forward. His short spear pierces through a couple vines and into the main body the plant monster. Another arrow from Cas follows soon after and the monster loses grip on the ceiling temporarily held up by Antonio before it crashes to the floor.
Jeremy and Jess both stand there and clap. There wasn't much call for healing or a dagger in this fight so they had stayed back and watched the rear. After all, they left another one of these monsters behind them. Now with the fight over Jess pokes Antonio and sends a short burst of power through him to heal any bruises from the fight. As she focuses on that the dead assassin vine dissipates, leaving behind a small bunch of berries.
Fern picks them up and bags them. She wasn't the person they intended to hold the loot but the berries were less likely to be squished in her pack. The monster slain and everyone ready to continue they proceed onward. First, they have to pass through four medium-sized rooms of nothing but more goats. Then another large room with even more goats but from there they could see an actual challenge.
Jeremy saw a kobold two rooms away. Their eyes met and it dodged out of his line of sight. He sighs, "Well we weren't exactly going for a stealth run anyway. Not the room with the orderly bushes but the one after that has kobolds in it. Oh and Fern, before you ask, no I don't know for certain that they are kobolds. However that is what they look like to me. Until my skill says otherwise, that is what I am calling them."
Kyle frowns, "I already told her to lay off but that's a two-way street. Keep your snide remarks on the down-low as well if you would." Jeremy waves him off, "fine. Anyway, everyone group up. We have a real fight ahead of us." Kyle raises an eyebrow, "yes an excellent plan. I agree, everyone group up."
Through the short hallway and the room with bushes the party advances. Antonio glances around the corner into the room with the kobolds and sees them. "Okay, five kobolds gathered against the right wall around the corner. They seem to be defending the way to the next room. From what the guide has told us about young dungeons we should be near the end so that might be our way out. Also, they don't seem to be armed with anything so it looks like we can deliver her gift package." Kyle nods, "then we are good to go. Everyone around the corner!"
Kyle and Antonio both advance around the corner at the same time with their shields locked together. Once the kobolds glimpse them with a smattering of growls, they charge only to be rebuffed by the shields and a light shove pushes them all back. One kobold even falls over. With the group now engaged Cas pops around the corner with her bow drawn and lets loose an arrow towards the center of the kobold group.
Even though she didn't aim at a specific enemy, they are bunched together tightly enough that the arrow catches one in the arm. That kobold falls back and scratches at it. The monsters now distracted miss it when Jeremy stealths into the room and flanks them. Before he attacks though Fern finishes a spell from around the corner and both Antonio and Kyle glow as a wind wraps their bodies.
The both of them swing their weapons in unison the spear piercing forward and the morning star crashing down. Most of the kobolds scramble out of the way but the one that had been knocked over didn't make it in time and died with a crushed leg and pierced stomach. The two kobolds on the left side might have dodged out of the way but this brought them right into Jeremy's range.
His two daggers swipe out and angry red lines are drawn on both of them. However they weren't as oblivious to his presence as the party had thought as he catches a couple claw attacks in turn. One claw is blocked by his armor but the other scours his hand forcing him to drop his dagger.
As the unsuccessful kobold goes for another shot though an arrow sprouts out of its shoulder. Cas having taken the time to aim hits it right where it would disable the monster from attacking. Then the wound bursts open as the arrow head explodes into shrapnel, her skill having successfully activated. With this half a chance Jeremy swings his remaining dagger at the kobolds leg, hamstringing it, as he picks up his dropped dagger.
While this happens Antonio sends out a flurry of stabs at a kobold that dodged into the wall. The monster is agile but Antonio's strikes speed up as he activates a skill which stacks with his already enhanced speed from Ferns buff spell. The kobold never stood a chance and it falls to the floor with more holes than it can survive.
Kyle steps over the dead kobold on the floor and brings his morning star up and across. Bashing the kobold that had dodged backwards into the wall where it gets sliced by a blast of wind from Fern. Meanwhile Cas finishes off the one she blasted and Jeremy gets his daggers into the hamstrung kobolds heart.
With the fight over Jess enters the room. She looks a little ill from the bloody mess but gets down to work and heals Jeremy's cut hand. Cas not having been too active in the fight looks through the hallway to see what she can see while everyone else recovers. It might not have been a long fight or all that tough for them. However, it was one of the first real fights in which the enemy had intended to kill them.
Through the tunnel she sees one more kobold just sitting on a stone chair with a couple of goats. "Hey Kyle, come look at this. I think this is the last room. Want me to finish it for us?" Kyle walks over and takes a glance, "Sure, why not. I will stand here just in case something happens."
Cas aims carefully but the first shot is a miss. The kobold that had been sitting still chose just the right moment to dodge. Its luck didn't last though as the next arrow catches it in the leg and the third ends its life with a headshot. The goats scamper into the corner bleating in fear.
Cas stretches, "well that wasn't fun at all. Once we are out of the tutorial if we ever find this dungeon again I hope it has cleaned up its act." Kyle nods, "This was more dangerous in theory but it was missing something."
The kobolds had all faded away by now so the rest of the group gathers some packaged horned rabbit meat of all things and gathers on them. Formed up they move into the next room which proves to be the last as they thought. There is a giant circular stone door that looks like a pain to roll out of the way. However right in front of it is one of the tutorial portals. With one giant sigh of relief from everyone in the group they step through leaving behind their first dungeon experience and stepping into whatever future the changed earth may hold for them. All that is left behind is an awkwardly shaped package which Kyle had dropped right before he stepped through. On it is a small note, "From The Dungeon of Never Ending Caves, Here is a care package just in case you didn't start with any good stuff. I expect nothing in return but consider paying it forward next time you're able to help another new dungeon core."
Doyle sits there in stunned silence as the adventurers leave. Ally, not so much. 'Oo Oo Oo, care package, care package, what's in the care package? I've heard good things about the endless caves dungeon.'
Doyle takes another moment to come out of his daze, 'what was that?' Ally shrugs, 'from my count about three critical flaws and one very well trained party. You didn't order your monsters around properly. Missed some side effects of their abilities, and as a bonus didn't give your kobolds anything to use. That last is why I want you to open the care package. If anything, you will at least get the pattern for leather! The naked kobold thing isn't really your fault as you had nothing to give them. Sure you could have fashioned some stone tools but without leather or bark to wrap the handles with it would have done more harm than good.'
Doyle shakes his core, 'Gah, whatever, sure I will open the dang package. Though I am going to replace the dead monsters first. At least they left the one assassin vine alone, so I didn't lose too much.' Seven new monsters later and Doyle turns to the package. The leather is wrapped tightly around whatever is inside with a rough cord and the note is made of paper. Strangely the cord isn't tied on but rather one piece so he has to resort to deconstructing it.
With the cord gone the sheet of leather falls to the side revealing the package's contents. Before him in a small pile is a collection of simple clothes and weapons plus two little coins. All of it sized for either a child or a small race. Ally claps her hands, 'Yes! This is exactly what we need. Don't mind the size or fit, we can change that as needed. For now, just absorb everything and get the patterns.' Doyle rolls to the side but does as she says.
The pile deconstructed Ally points at his character sheet, 'You now have some sub tables to your database! I was expecting to first get around to this with your rooms but this is fine by me. Open up the weapon and armor pattern tables as well.'
{Name: Doyle Huxley
Race: Dungeon Core (Strange Caverns)
Soulbond: Ally Huxley
Paths: [27] Dungeon Core 1/1
Level: 0
[2] S[8] A[7] C[10] I[12] W[9] P[5] D[14] K[20] L[16]
World Energy(/R per hour): 1000/1000(250)
Skills: Territory Control lv4, Dungeon Rules lv4, Universal Deconstruction lv4, Dungeon Pattern Database lv10, Creation(Energy Powered, Pattern Based) lv5}
{Dungeon Patterns: goat lv9, dungeon soil lv5, clothes lv5, kobold lv4, assassin vine lv4, weapon patterns lv3, armor patterns lv3, shrubbery lv2, vines lv2, clover lv2, horned rabbits lv1, Earth standard air mix lv1, volcanic rock lv1, Basic Room(Small, Medium, Large) lv1, leather lv1, cloth lv1, metal(copper, tin, silver) lv1, wood lv1, system coins(copper, silver) lv1
Weapon Patterns: sword lv3, dagger lv2, bow lv2, arrow lv2, mace lv1, staff lv1, wand lv1
Armor Patterns: tunic lv3, greaves lv3, helmet lv3, boots lv3, cloak lv1, gauntlets lv1, shield lv1}
She traces the armor patterns with her finger, 'you got lucky. So many level three patterns just from deconstructing the things once. The level five clothes is to be expected with you having worn them all the time as a human but your world wasn't very up on more classical weapons and armor. You must have at some point had some experience with the stuff though. My guess is a fascination with swords and some light use of daggers and bows.'
'Anyway, sub tables in your database skill work just like the database itself. They tend to form when you get enough patterns in a specific category. Overall, better to have the one sub table than each of the contained patterns in your actual database. Some testing has been done and we at least know that under this system one higher level pattern is worth more to your databases level than a bunch of low level patterns.'
'Also, you might have missed it but your world energy is full but not overflowing. While you aren't technically open to earth yet adventurers can now enter and leave so it would skew the energy released when you do open up there. Instead of messing with it the system has just stored all the spare energy and will release it when appropriate. This is also so you don't cheese the tutorial as having all that energy would let you refresh your monsters too quickly and allow you to arm them better than expected.'
'Speaking of arming stuff lets do that with your kobolds. Not too much as depending on the material and item it will cost you world energy. You need to find the right balance so you can keep your monsters armed but not at a deficit. At the moment you have copper and tin so that means bronze weapons. I advise the classic mix of nine copper to one tin. There are other ratios for stuff like armor but a ten percent tin alloy will do you with weapons.'
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Doyle bobs upward, 'but what about the fact my goats didn't attack at all?' Ally's face goes slack and in a monotone voice says, 'well they're goats? What did you expect?' Her voice returns to normal as she rolls her eyes, 'Sure they can attack but if left alone they will generally leave you alone. You already knew you could give your creatures orders such as getting rabbits to stay in their burrow. Not to be rude but I basically said that already just moments ago. Though I guess to be more specific here are your three problems again.'
'One, goats are passive animals so you need to tell them to be otherwise. I advise you to be specific so they don't just attack everything. Two, the assassin vines can't move around that quickly. You need to somehow set it up so it is harder to just walk around them. If that one vine hadn't setup right at the doorway the group wouldn't have had to fight till the kobolds. Finally number three, arm your kobolds. Luckily the little blighters are already semi aggressive and territorial so they fought back but that only goes so far. Also, your lone kobold will be a good fight once it gets a name. For now, it is just target practice. Maybe let it join the others of the fight is going against them. Oh and order her goats to follow her orders. Hard to work as a team when no one follows orders.'
Doyle sinks downward, 'yeah I guess that does make sense.' He sighs, 'well I have an idea on how to fix the assassin vines. I take a goat from the second large room plus that lone goat right after and put them in the vine room. Order the vines not to attack them and have the goats try and push people into them. As for the gear I think I will keep it simple. Though how do I check the cost of equipment anyway?'
Ally smiles, 'excellent plan. As for the equipment cost that is easy enough. Just query the system about it. The price can change depending on so many factors. Though a plain dagger will generally be worth about the same every time. As a companion I can actually help with this so let's bring up a bronze dagger as an example. [System, how much does a bronze dagger cost?]'
{Bronze(9:1 copper tin ratio) Dagger
Temp cost: 5
Loot cost: 43
True cost: 5,000}
'Notice how the system specifically calls out the alloy? That comes from me having a specific intent for how I want it mixed. Let me show you that again but without the specificity. [System, how much does a bronze dagger cost?]'
{Bronze Dagger
Temp cost: 4
Loot cost: 98
True cost: 10,000}
'Most of the prices around double while that first temp cost actually went down. The more specific you are when making things the less it will cost as world energy doesn't have to fill in as much. Now for what each of those numbers represents. The temp cost is what you pay to equip a monster with the dagger but without the intent for it to drop. You put basically no effort into making it a real item. The loot cost is, appropriately enough, how much it costs if you want the dagger to drop as loot. Barring other adjustments the price will generally be ten times the temp cost. Then we have the true cost. That's what you pay if you just want to make the item for realsy.'
'There is a reason it costs so much more but it will make more sense to you if we wait until someone gets a loot drop.' Doyle tilts to one side, 'but didn't that last party get some loot? There was the berries and rabbit meat that dropped.'
Ally shakes her head, 'nah, that was incidental stuff. If you had rabbit meat set as loot for the kobolds it would count. As it is, though that meat was just their energy collapsing into something. If you didn't have the rabbits for the kobolds to hunt the result could have been quite random. Though speaking of rabbits, they all just hid when the party came through. You need to force excess horned rabbits to stay out or you will develop an overpopulation problem.'
Doyle nodded his core, 'that all makes sense and I think I have a plan for how to outfit the kobolds.' Ally brings up an illusion of a kobold and gestures for him to continue. 'We have two potential magic users so a wand a piece should do. Actually, how would magic use work for my monsters? They can't really learn much if they keep dying.'
Ally waves it off, 'If you give the male kobolds wands they will use them. Unlike sentients who have to learn magic most monsters have instinctual spells they can use under the right circumstances.' With that explained she waves at the kobold illusion and two wands appear next to a hand. Doyle nods again, 'fair enough. Anyway, I don't want too many back-line fighters so the rest will get melee weapons. I think two with double daggers and one going sword and board should work.' The kobold image updates to include two sets of daggers and a sword next to the wands with the shield at the other hand.
'Decent enough', Ally admits, 'but you might want to throw a dagger or shield at the two mages. Don't take that human mage as an example of how they should be setup. A kobold's instinctual spell can be done one handed so allowing for a backup weapon is a good idea.' Doyle pauses for a moment before he continues, 'you're right. To even it out one gets a dagger and the other a shield. As for the boss kobold I am thinking of giving her the classic sword and board as well.'
The illusion updates again and Ally smiles, 'well that's their weapons accounted for. It could cost you a pretty penny though if you're not careful.' Doyle agrees, 'if I tried to make it all loot the gear might end up costing more than the kobolds. I think a single loot item for the five regular kobolds will be enough though. The boss I will spend a bit more on though. If anything, by having more potential drops, she might earn herself a name quicker.'
Ally nods, 'that is true enough. You can't be too generous though. Might not want to have all the regular kobolds drop loot. For the moment you will have to re-arm them every time they die so it is easy enough to change up their loadouts. Later on after you gain the ability to automate it things won't be so easy.' Doyle thinks on what she just said, 'should I have the other monsters have actual loot?' Ally shakes her head, 'the only ones that might be worth it are the assassin vines and they already are almost guaranteed to drop their berries. I hate to repeat myself but once you see how real loot works, you will understand how to use it better. Now let's focus on the armor. The system won't put us back out there for adventurers until we are ready.'
Doyle takes another glance over what armor he has available. 'I don't really want to deck the kobolds out. That would cost too much and not fit what I feel my first floor should be.' Ally shrugs, 'so keep it light then. It isn't like those two dagger kobolds would fight better with more encumbrance. They only have three strength after all.' Doyle's core dims, 'hmm, you're right. Actually, now that I think about it, let's bring up the kobold status.'
{Kobold
S[4] A[7] C[4] I[6] W[6] P[6]
Skills: Heavy Bash lv3, Improvise Trap lv3}
'Wait a second! You were going to let me fall into another mistake. They have the skill for heavy bash and here I am trying to give them swords and daggers.' Ally smiles but doesn't say a thing so Doyle continues, 'You were! Switch out the daggers and swords for maces. Gah, and I forgot to let them wander around and lay out traps!'
Ally interrupts him and points out that, 'they need to gather some excess energy for the traps so they couldn't have set traps. Since you didn't tell them not to they will when possible.' Doyle brightens up again. 'Well, I did nothing wrong then. But yeah, any kobold with a melee weapon should now have a single mace. Maybe once the pattern levels up more I will get other weapon skills to put on them.'
'Anyway give the shieldless kobolds some greaves except the wand using one. Also, don't think I missed the clothes pattern. They are absurdly cheap as long as I don't do anything fancy with it, right?' Ally nods, 'yeah. Regular clothes generally cost a single point for the whole suit. Mostly because that existed in societies your earth pushed the meaning of normal clothes into the gutter. When there are people who find it easier to just buy new clothes instead of washing old clothes, you know something is going wrong.'
Doyle shifts around, 'not everyone was like that. Anyway, throw shirts, pants, and underwear on them all. Six world essence isn't worth quibbling over. To finish up with armor, I really want to deck out the boss.' Ally interjects, 'not a boss.' Doyle rolls to the side, 'meh, the leader should be well armored. She can have a tunic, gauntlets, greaves, helmet, and a pair of boots. Actually no, cut the boots and greaves. They seem like the kind of race that goes around barefoot anyway and five items is enough. I am tempted to cut the gauntlets as well but protecting her hands so a lucky shot doesn't drop her shield or mace sounds like a good idea. Also can I armor the goats?'
Ally laughs, 'of course you can armor the goats. You just lack any good armor to put on them except maybe the helmets. Once you get some more proper main armor pieces, it should be possible to make something work.' Doyle sighs, 'don't bother with the helmets. I will just give them collars and be done with it.'
Ally frowns and looks down for a moment but can't keep it going. She brightens up and laughed some more, 'fair enough. Though the helmets would have looked cool, I think they should be fine without. Now let's take a look at the butcher's bill. [System what are the temp and loot prices for the items we want?]'
{Clothes for six kobolds and two goat collars: 6
Wooden Wand: 10, 100
Wooden Shield: 2, 20
Bronze(9:1) Mace: 5, 49
Leather Greaves: 2, 20
Leather Gauntlets: 2, 16
Leather Helmet: 2, 19
Leather Tunic: 2, 17}
With her eyebrows raised Ally clicks her tongue, 'quite the spread there. I was expecting the armor to all cost the same. Also before you ask, the wand costs so much because it is magical. For basic magic items like a wand or a sword enchanted to be sharper the price is generally double. Though of course it's magic. You can never quite pin it down.'
Doyle does some math in his head, 'looks like arming my kobolds will cost only 67 world energy if I don't make any of it loot. I do want some of it loot though so let me think. At least one wand being lootable is a must. Only the leader should have a chance to drop a mace as well. So that would bring us up to 201 points. The mace and shield girl can drop the shield, same with the shield and wand guy. The mace and greaves kobolds I think will lack any loot. So what? A total of 237 points on arming them? I wanted to keep it down but I still spent almost as much on their gear as I did on the kobolds themselves. The leader kobold doesn't have all the loot I wanted her to have.'
'Though that reminds me. For stuff like their gear loot is mostly self explanatory. The monster dies and all the energy goes into the item instead of some random drop. How would it work if I wanted something they don't carry to be loot? I noticed the metal coins in the pack so they are probably the common currency under the system.'
'That's a good question.' Ally thinks about her answer for a second before she continues. 'There isn't really a set way to do it to be honest. Some dungeons literally place all loot options on their monsters somewhere. A coin in the pocket or the stomach. This obviously becomes less viable for the more extreme rewards you might give out.'
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'You can also set it to them without spawning the item. This means you could do silly things like having a bee drop a chunk of ore three times its size. A very useful method if you have a normal animal but want them to drop leather clothes. Though mentioning leather brings us to the third most common way to do loot drops. You can select parts of your monster to become their loot. This means you can have your goats potentially drop a nice hide when defeated even if they got hacked apart and then burned.'
'Suffice to say each method has its own upsides and downsides. As for the metal coins you might want to set a couple copper on your leader kobold. Now your world might not switch to using system currency. Some never do. However it is the only universally accepted currency. Even the worlds that don't adopt it use it. This mostly stems from it not being counterfeitable.'
'Only entities like the system and dungeon cores can make it because at the center of each coin is a quintessence signature. The higher grade the coin the more quintessence in that signature. This stored quintessence is used by the system when anything is directly bought from it. As a side effect of this coins always cost the same amount of world energy. Copper at ten and silver 100. Of course there are higher tiers of coin, some even valuable on their own for the metal they are made of. You don't have to worry about it though as after the next coin, gold, the cost balloons.'
'Hmm', Doyle tilts forward, 'Three copper coins as loot then. This raises the cost up above what I earn in an hour but everyone loves coins. Also, you said it had a signature in it. Is that my signature or a generic this is a coin signature?'
Ally makes a number of illusionary copper coins all of them different. 'Not only is the signature uniquely yours but their design depends on the dungeon as well. We won't know what ours is until one gets dropped. In fact, you can't even use gold coins until the fifth floor boss so I guess it is a good thing you didn't want to use it. Not that we are likely to see them in the tutorial. Your kobolds aren't likely to survive long enough for any loot to drop. Good news about that is you only need to pay the loot cost the first time or after it has been looted. Otherwise you just pay the basic cost.'
'Of course that is only if you spawn the same setup. If you try to change equipment or creatures, the pattern holding the loot in place falls apart and you have to set it up again. Train your rules enough and you can automate the respawning of things. Honestly, a lot of this is provided by the system to promote growth in dungeons. Without a system to handle it dungeons tend to stick to fewer but deadlier floors.'
'This works in systemless universes. Systems however change the game as it smooths out the progression of adventurers. You want level one to five threats on the first floor. Second floor can then be level three to nine and so on. That way people can level up. Without levels though the tiers of strength tend to be more exponential if harder to progress. Oh, and your monsters are all level one at the moment. You're limited to monsters equal to or less than your level and the monster itself can have limits built in as well. For instance, you can't spawn a real dragon under level 1000.'
Doyle nods his core, 'good to know. Though I have to ask, if monsters don't have paths how do levels work for them?' Ally shrugs, 'I don't know the details. Even though we have all these dungeons like Flisle and the Infinite Caves to do tutorials, they didn't start under the system. Their floors and monsters had already been setup and they don't exactly have leeway to set up new ones. I am sure we will find out soon enough.'
Doyle sighs, 'we are in a tutorial. Shouldn't there be some kind of quest or text about it?' Ally laughs, 'as if the tutorials are really going to set you up for the world. For people born under the system they already know most of the extra stuff from living their lives. You knew people wouldn't be able to learn what you really need in less than a few years. Instead, the tutorial is entirely there to get you ready to live life. If the tutorial actually was here to get you system ready it would let you experience leveling up and more paths.'
'It packs people full of just enough false confidence that you don't all die. When the system reforms your world it takes years for it to stabilize. Most buildings with more than a couple stories will have collapsed. Animals will have acclimatized to the energies in the air and some will have changed into monsters. While major cities and important buildings get some protection, your world has well and truly ended.'
Ally closes her eyes and rubs the bridge of her nose. 'Hah, sorry about that rant. In my years I have seen a good number of worlds introduced to the system. Helped in protecting those important places. The people come back from the tutorial and see that for the most part everything looks the same. Governments try to regulate levels and paths. Extremists deny it all and kill the strongest to try and prove in some twisted way it isn't real. Dungeons and monster dens get quarantined so no one can enter them for their own safety.'
'We can only do so much without turning entire species into our dependants. Even then it doesn't work all the time. Some godlike being comes along and tries to handhold a civilization through the change. No good ever comes of it. Governments crumble, cities burn, and whole societies die out. Everyone has to take that first step into the new system based reality and some species just can't manage it.'
'Luckily I haven't personally experienced it but entire species have died. Something in their core existence that denies the system. The Alilloou in particular are a poster child for it. Anyone that helps with new worlds is required to read the account. They at first seem to be adapting perfectly. No chaos and they banded together right from the word go. Within a couple years everything seemed at peace like they had always had the system. The team, happy with the progress, left before the century of observation was even a tenth of the way through.'
'They got sent back when no communication or travelers came from the world. It was a tomb world when they arrived. Every Alilloou, old and young, had simply stopped living once they were alone. It took millennium to find the answer. As a species at some basic level they couldn't handle the mystical energies. While the observers were around, they acted like observers in the quantum sense of the world. Once they left, well, yeah. What's worse is this was likely the best outcome for them. To never know they are trapped and can never leave the presence of someone of another species or they may just die without notice.'